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Gold/Mining/Energy : ZINC The base metal. News and Views. Symbol Zn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Andrew who wrote (506)	9/12/2003 1:53:41 PM
From: Stephen O	Respond to of 3270

Anglo Says Glencore to Sell Zinc From Skorpion Mine (Update1) (Adds impact on Namibian economy in sixth paragraph.) Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Anglo American Plc, the world's second-biggest mining company, said Glencore International AG will market zinc from the $454 million Skorpion mine in Namibia, which began production in May. Skorpion will produce 150,000 metric tons of zinc annually, worth $124 million at current prices, for at least 15 years, London-based Anglo said in a statement on today's formal opening of the mine near the southern Namibian town of Rosh Pinah. ``Skorpion has entered into a non-exclusive sales agreement for the earlier years of operation,'' Anglo said. ``This arrangement will be reviewed and reconsidered at the end of the contract period and once production has stabilized.'' Anglo is working to increase production of metals used in industry to lessen the impact of swings in prices for diamonds and precious metals on earnings. During the past two years, the company has invested in assets ranging from South African iron ore pits to Chilean copper mines. The Namibian mine will reach full production by the end of next year, Anglo said. ``Skorpion is the largest investment in Namibia since independence'' in 1991, said Tony Trahar, Anglo's chief executive in a separate statement published by London's Regulatory News Service. ``When it reaches full production it should contribute some 4 percent to the gross national product of the country.'' Glencore, one of the world's biggest commodity traders, will sell the mine's output worldwide, Anglo said. Demand for zinc, the price of which has fallen 35 percent during the past six years, has shown little improvement, Anglo said. ``Despite a minor improvement in the zinc price over the past few weeks, the market remains weak, with little or no improvement in demand,'' Anglo said. Trahar earlier this year said the company expects the price of the metal to rise in coming years. Zinc closed trade at $829.50 a ton yesterday on the London Metal Exchange. Anglo produces 130,000 tons of zinc each year from the Hudson Bay mine in Canada and the Black Mountain mine in South Africa. It also owns 62 percent of the 150,000 ton-per-year Lisheen zinc min in Ireland. --Antony Sguazzin in the Johannesburg bureau (27 11) 286 1934, or asguazzin@bloomberg.net, through the Vienna bureau. Editor: Morris,Foroohar